BMG Music
August 4
You know the old saying, musicians aren’t taught, they are born?
Well, there is no better example of that than Wolfgang Van Halen who was born into musical royalty and spent the rest of his mortal life honing his craft and learning from and playing with the best.
Hell, he even had a series of guitars named after him!
So when, after having already played with Van Halen and Tremonti before turning 30, Wolfgang lost his father and mentor Eddie there was never any doubt that the family legacy would live on through his talents, but the only problem was finding a band that allowed Wolfgang to fulfill his musical vision.
In 2021 he released his debut album as a solo artist titled Mammoth WVH writing every song and playing every instrument on the studio album. It was more a personal statement of conviction that a man who had long-lived as his father’s son was now a man and seasoned musician in his own right.
With a renewed vigor he quickly set to work on the follow-up, showing early faith in the completed body of work by once more lending his band name to the album by calling it Mammoth II.
With the album set for release on August 4, HEAVY jumped at the chance to review the sequel to a fantastic opening salvo, admittedly waiting until the office was free from those who might dare suggest the volume be reduced in any shape or form.
Right? leads the charge, bursting out of the blocks with a frenetic guitar riff that chops and changes with reckless abandon.
Once more Wolfgang has handled every aspect of writing and recording, so it makes things pretty easy when reviewing each track.
His voice almost purrs into the fray, co-existing with a dominant drum pattern that subsides only to accentuate the higher vocal moments. It’s actually quite scary knowing everything you can hear is the output of one man and I find myself trying to put that to the back of my mind, so I can more concentrate on the actual music.
A wickedly stuttering guitar solo seems to coax even more life out of an already labor-intensive number that has all of its bits in exactly the right places.
Like A Pastime flickers to life on the back of a swirling guitar note that subsides long enough to welcome a dreamier and more measured track that soon tires of normality and shifts gears swiftly and succinctly.
Despite the sporadic nature that sees Like A Pastime cover a plethora of adventures, the song is essentially a chorus-driven, accessible slab of rock that has enough sincerity to be welcomed on the radio but also enough defiance to keep it listenable.
A massive drum fill ignites Another Celebration At The End Of The World before guitars shift from left to right sonically that lock horns just in time to shift things back on level footing. The song shifts gradually as it progresses, an intensity and urgency on the back of a runaway vocal train dictating terms nicely.
The timing and tempo changes are dangerously sporadic, allowing each instrument its chance to breathe and conquer in an avalanche of sonic oppression that is, to put it simply, un-fucken-believable.
Miles Above Me is all guitar and muscle as it raunches its way into your earholes but the vocal Wolfgang has other ideas, tempering proceedings somewhat by easing back into a casually comforting vocal delivery that suggests he may have more than a little of his personal feelings invested in this song.
Definitely a radio hit.
Even the soulfully beautiful guitar solo has MMM written all over it, soaring majestically into the distance as the vocals once more take over the story. Even as close to a ballad as Miles Above Me is, it’s still an absolute banger.
Take A Bow pulls things right back, a calming guitar intro the perfect segue into what is surely the album’s token ballad. But so far, every song has affected me in different ways, so, resisting the urge to skip, I press on in the hope that Wolfgang has somehow felt my reluctance and switched tact mid-way through.
Of course, this doesn’t happen, but I still hang in there, confident a well-timed guitar solo or drum breakdown will provide some darkness amongst the light.
But Take A Bow is seemingly a song intended to offer hope over brute force and as such I should respect the vision of its creator. Which was becoming increasingly more difficult before the music pulled back, and the guitar rose once more to prominence, its eerie wails of sorrow tipping the scales of justice more than enough back in my favour.
Which, I’m not too proud to admit I am glad it did.
Optimist rumbles out of the speakers with a heavy bottom end that only gets deeper as it settles into groove. This track has a grunge/industrial feel initially but soon veers off into more Alice In Chains territory. The bottom-end rumble continues to bore into your senses but somehow feels less intrusive by the rock sensibilities presented through the vocals.
I guess one of the main benefits of playing all of the instruments yourself is that you know exactly where you want each song to go without having to co-exist with someone else’s visions, which is perhaps one of the strongest points of this album.
A cool as fuck guitar-driven breakdown brings fresh focus back to the bottom-end growls and even as Wolfgang returns with rock-soothed vocals the underlying ferocity of this song is impossible to resist.
I’m Alright is your epitomal rock track. With a steady, catchy beat driving the sonic battle cart I’m Alright perfectly captures the essence of rock and pillaging roll, complete with keys and vocal harmonies.
No two songs so far have mirrored one another, the only constant being Wolfgang’s vocals which admittedly have less scope for experimentation than the instrumental passages.
Erase Me bounces out of the gates and into familiar territory, with a softer underbelly allowing Wolfgang to accentuate the warmer side of his musical personality. This track is calmer without being overtly soft if that makes sense.
Not really to me either, but what I’m trying to say is that even the scaled-back quieter tracks offer some form of appeal.
Waiting pulls things back even further and despite a rhythmic and solid kick pattern still has all the hallmarks of a ballad. It’s a little too wishy-washy for my tastes – although still a pleasant but not sonically appetizing ditty.
But there are people out there who enjoy the finer things in life, so I will let Wolfgang have this one.
Final track Better Than You reinforces the steel with a strong and chunky guitar riff piercing the quiet before retreating from battle to leave the nucleus of another radio-friendly number that has meat in all the right places.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but it almost has a Beatles-type feel in the vocal delivery. Not that I would know a Beatles melody if it smashed me in the temple, but I’m pretty sure I have heard something similar against my will and under sufferance from musical purists.
I have to reluctantly say that the final two songs on Mammoth II soured things a little for me, but not enough to overturn the musical wizardry that preceded them.
Even these two songs aren’t that bad, but I am a hard person to please when it comes to closing out an album. I like a bit of starch in my pockets and fire in the belly to halt proceedings, but again I digress.
Musically it’s hard to fault anything on this second offering and I will probably respect and appreciate the final tracks more next time I listen.
Or maybe I won’t, but I’m sure there are many more people out there who will.
*All reviews in HEAVY are just one person’s opinion of the album. We encourage honesty in reviews but just because our reviewer may or may not like/appreciate an album, that doesn’t mean their opinion is right! We encourage you to have a listen for yourself and make up your own minds!*
